Philly, Oakland Among Cities Winning Advice on Green Development

Philly, Oakland Among Cities Winning Advice on Green Development

Philadelphia, Oakland and six other U.S. cities will get free help this coming year from sustainable building and development experts who'll take a fresh look at the towns through a green lens.

The aim of the free consultations is to accelerate green neighborhood development by helping cities understand how to transform urban communities into places that offer a balanced mix of residential, commercial and recreational areas, which are easily accessible on foot, bikes and public transportation. Ideally, the communities would embody the triple bottom line by being good for the well-being of people, prosperous and kinder to the planet than the existing built environment.

Global Green USA, an arm of Green Cross International, contends cities are responsible for as much as 70 percent of global warming pollution and is working to counter climate change.

Cities vied for inclusion in the organization's consultation program, and the winners were selected based on factors that included the strength of sustainability projects they have planned, the level of community engagement, urgency and need for help.

Philadelphia and Oakland, Calif., both of which have detailed climate action plans, are the two largest cities selected for the Global Green USA program. The others are Dearborn, Mich.; Eden Prairie, Minn.; Greensboro, N.C.; Lafayette, Ind.; Lakewood, Colo.; and Louisville, Ky.

The consultation team begins its work in February and over the next six months will spend three days in each city and then make recommendations on infrastructure and policy changes that are intended to further development of sustainable communities.

The standard was established as a national benchmark for sustainable community design, but even in the testing phase it drew international interest. Two-hundred-thirty-nine projects in six countries were registered under LEED-NC during the pilot.